And eichaed



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheen 1.

J. T. HAWKINS 83 R. PRESTON.

APPARATUS FOR SETTING LITHOGRAPHIG STONES.

No. 323,932. Patented Aug. 11, 1885.

With/asses =Z' veJwZorS N. PEYERS, Pholo-L'rthagnphnr. wnhin mn. D. (1

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. T. HAWKINS 82; R. PRESTON.

APPARATUS FOR SETTING LITHOGRAPHIG STONES. No. 323,932.

Patented Aug. 11, 1885.

I-nn wntor.y

A li?) u will,

thvrrnn ATENT Fries.

JOHN -T. HAWKINS, OF TAUNTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AND RICHARD PRESTON, OFBROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR SETTING LITHOGRAPHIC STONES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 323,932, dated August11, 1885.

Application filed March 20, 1885. (N0 lnodeLl To all whom it mayconcern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN T. HAWKINS, of Taunton, in the county ofBristol and State of Massachusetts. and RICHARD PRESTON, of Brooklyn, inthe county of Kings and State of New York, have jointly invented a newand useful Apparatus for Setting Stones and Forms in Lithographic andother Printing Presses, which invent-ion is fully set forth andillustrated in the following specification and aeconipanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide an easy means of leveling andsetting to register the stones in lithographic printing presses, wheremore than one color is used to print the same piece of work; and itconsists in a certain apparatus or series of devices, as hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the printing of multicolor work by the lithographic process it iscustomary to suecessively use as many different stones as there areseparate colors used on the work, that portion of each design onlybelonging to a given color being made upon a single stone. To insure theplacing of the various colors in proper juxtaposition upon the sheet,certain marks, called register-marks, are also commonl y made upon eachstonefrom which all measurements are made for this purpose generally inthe form of two fine lines crossing each other at a right angle, like across, four ofsuch crosses being placed on each stone, near the marginsand about in the center of the width and length of the stone, so that ifthe series of stones are so placed in the press that theseregister-marks shall come at some definite position with reference tothe recipro eating bed of the press the sheets fed to the machine uponthe second or any succeeding stone will be just in accord with eachother. The series of stones used for a multicolor piece of work in thelithographic printing-press will almost invariably be of differentthicknesses, and as the height of the upper surface of each of thesestones must be brought to exactly the same level. in order that thepressure of the impression-cylinder shall be exactly the same upon everypart of each stone, each stone must be leveled up as it is placed in thepress. Heretofore the leveling has been done by placing a straight-edgeacross the stone, with its ends resting upon the sides of the stone-bed,the stone being then brought up to the straightedge; but the setting ofthe several stones to register has only been done by running sheetsthrough the press, and thus by repeated trials bringing the stones totheir proper position, the register-marks being used only for theplacing of designs or parts ofdesigns upon the stones in register witheach other, and not utilized for the placing of the stones in regis terin the press. This invention is intended to utilize the register-marksfor setting the stone to register in the press, and to use the sameapparatus for the leveling of the stone, thus saving the time usuallyoccupied in setting the stone by trial-sheets, and also saving thesheets wasted in the process. \Vhere fifteen or twenty colors areprinted upon one sheet, as is often done, the waste of time and paper inthe old method becomes a very considerable item, which this invention isintended to save.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a transverse vertical sectionthrough the stone-bed or boX of the lithographic press with thestone-setting apparatus in place as used. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalvertical section through the same, at right angles to the section shownin Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view of the same apparatus in plan, having one ofthe rods and its adjuncts constituting the stonesetting appartus omittedin order to show the register-marks on the stone. Fig. 4 showstwo-elevations of the detachable standards carrying the rods upon whichthe adjustable gages or pointers (shown in two views in Fig. 5) aresecured. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the complete apparatus.

In said figures the several parts are indicated by letters as follows: Ais the bed or bed-box;

A, the elevating stone-plate within the same. A are the elevating-screwsfor adjusting the height of the stone-plate A. A is the stone restingupon the elevating-plate A. B are standards arranged to carry in theirupper ends rods B. In the bases of the standards B are inserted shortdowel or guide pins B". The upper ends of the standards 13 are furnishedwith feathers B and set-screws B impinging upon them. The rods B havesplines S, Fig. 6, planed in their whole length for the reception of thefeathers B. In the upper edges of the bed-box A there are bored a seriesof holes, b, for the reception of the dowel or guide pins B ,so dividedand located as to permit of the standards B being placed in differentpositions upon the bed-box A. Adjustably secured to the rods B,by meansof feathers c and set-screws c, are two or more carriers, 0. Adjustablysecured, in each carrier 0 by means of set screws C is a rod, D, havingformed on one end an eye, D, in which is adjustably secured, by means ofa set-screw,D-, a short gage or pointer, E, having formed on one end amilled hcad,and the other end formed to present two lines of metalcrossing each other at right angles, as seen in the end view given at F,Fig. 5. The gages or pointers E are adjustable vertically in the eyes Dof the rods 1'), and of course may be set angularly in any positiondesired, so as to bring the crosslincs F, Fig. 5, to correspond with theregistcranarks on the stone, (shown at F, Fig. 3,) but hidden from viewon the other two edges of the stone by the apparatus in p ace as used.Two rods, B, are used-one pair of standards B and carriers 0 to each ofsaid rodsand one pair of standards B are made higher than the other,sufficiently to allow the rods B to cross each other without touching,as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. One rod only is shown in place in Fig. 3.

This apparatus is applied and operated as follows: Having adjusted thefirst stone of a series to be used in printing a piece of multicolorwork, and having printed the entire edition therefrom before the stoneis disturbed, the stone setting apparatus is placed upon the bed-boxwith the pins B in such of the holes 2) as will allow the gages orpointers E to fall upon the register-marks F, afterward making a closeradjustment by sliding the carriers 0 0n the rods B, the rods D in thecarriers 0, and the gages or pointers E vertically in the eyes D of therods D. Having brought the four poi ntcrs or gages, E, so as tocorrespond exactly with the position of the four sets of registenmarksF, said pointers are then adjusted "ertically so as to just hold a pieceof thin paper between their lower ends and the face of the stone, andall parts are secured by the several set-screws in this position, theparticular set of holes I) in which the pins B have been inserted beingmarked for recognition, so that said pins may be replaced therein forsetting the succeeding stone. The stone-setting apparatusis thenremoved, another stone placed in the press and so leveled that the samepiece of thin paper will just be held between the ends of the gages orpointers E and the register-marks F, said marks being brought to theposition indicated by said pointers after placing the apparatus in thesame position in which it was adjusted to the first stone. Similarly foras many stones as may be successively employed 011 the work in hand theone adjustment of the stone setting apparatus to the primary stone isall the adjustment required in it. In this way every succeeding stonewill be placed not only at the same level but in exact register with thefirst stone used, and the work may be proceeded with without trial, andconsequently waste of trial-sheets and time.

It is obvious that the principles herein employed may be applied to thesetting of type or plate forms in typographic or plate presses, so faras the setting of forms to register is concerned, where 111 ultieolor orany other kind of work requires change in the setting of forms for thesame piece of work. \Ve therefore do not confine ourselves to theemployment of this apparatus upon the lithographic press alone; nor dowe confine ourselves to the methods herein shown for locating thestandards B by means of the pins B and holes I) in the bed of the press,as this may be accomplished in many other mechanical ways withoutdeparting from the general principles employed in this invention; nor dowe confine ourselves to the methods herein shown for adjusting thevarious parts of the apparatus so as to permit of the pointers or gagesbeing universally adjustable, as these methods of adjustment may all bevaried to suit different tastes and ideas of printers by other wellknownmechanical methods.

Having thus fully described our saidapparatus as of our invention, weclaim- A stone or form setting apparatus for lithographic or otherprinting presses, consisting of supporttug-standards, as B, adjustablyand detachabl y located upon the type or stone bed of the press, andcarrying a bar, as B, adj ustably secured thereto, said bar havingmounted thereon pointing or indicating rods, as E, arranged to beadjustable longitudinally, laterally, and vertically, and to be securedin any such adjusted position, whereby each of a series of stones orforms may be successively adjusted, as to level and register, to conformto the position of its preceding form or stone, or to that of a primaryform or stone, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

JOHN T. HA\VKINS. RICHARD PRESTON.

Witnesses as to John T. Hawkins:

ELISILL T. JACKSON, J. F. HALEY. YVitnesscs as to Richard Preston:

FnA NOIS P. REILLY, WM. 0. FINDLAY.

